New Delhi: The Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma contempt case took a fresh turn on August 4, 2026, after the Delhi High Court granted four weeks to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and other respondents to file their replies. The case relates to a suo motu criminal contempt proceeding over an alleged social media campaign targeting Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. The court also directed fresh service of notice to one respondent who has not yet been served.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma Contempt Case: Delhi High Court Gives Four Weeks To Respond
A Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja heard the matter on Tuesday. At the beginning of the hearing, the Bench verified the appearance of all parties and asked who was representing each respondent.
Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhari appeared for Arvind Kejriwal. Advocate Vivek Jain represented Manish Sisodia. Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai appeared for Saurav Das, while Advocate Lokesh Bhardwaj represented Saurabh Bhardwaj.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma Contempt Case: Court Orders Fresh Notice To One Respondent
During the hearing, the Bench noted that Respondent No. 5 had not yet been served with the court notice. The High Court directed the concerned Station House Officer (SHO) to issue fresh notice. The court further ordered that if the respondent is unavailable, the SHO must verify the person’s current address before serving the notice.
The Bench observed:
“It appears that Respondent No. 5 is not served. Let fresh notices be served. In case he is not available, the SHO will inquire about his current address and serve him.”
Next Hearing Fixed For September 21
The Delhi High Court granted all respondents four weeks to file their replies. The court also instructed them to provide an advance copy of their replies to the Amicus Curiae. After issuing these directions, the Bench scheduled the next hearing for September 21, 2026.
Background Of The Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma Contempt Case
In May 2026, the Delhi High Court appointed Senior Advocate Rajdipa Behura as Amicus Curiae to assist the court. On the same day, notices were issued to AAP leader Gopal Rai and journalist Saurav Das.
Earlier, on May 19, the court had also issued notices to Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Vinay Mishra, and Saurabh Bhardwaj.
Why Did The Court Take Suo Motu Action
The contempt proceedings are linked to a judgment dated May 14, 2026, in the case Central Bureau of Investigation vs. Kuldeep Singh and Others. The proceedings stem from alleged defamatory and insulting remarks made against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma while she was hearing the CBI’s challenge to the discharge of Arvind Kejriwal and other accused in the Delhi excise policy case.
Justice Sharma observed that the allegations could amount to criminal contempt and transferred the excise policy matter to another Bench because Kejriwal and Sisodia were among the accused.
Events That Led To The Contempt Proceedings
The controversy intensified after Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak sought Justice Sharma’s recusal from the case. On April 20, the judge rejected the request, saying that litigants cannot be allowed to weaken public trust in the judiciary by making such allegations.
Later, social media posts allegedly targeting the judge surfaced. The court also took note of letters allegedly written by Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak announcing a boycott of the proceedings, along with a video released by Kejriwal explaining the reasons behind the boycott.
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